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Chamber
should honor Tony DiLeo

The
Greater Darlington Chamber of Commerce does a great job with its
annual banquet every year. This year was great also. They recognized
several well-deserving people, but one name was missing: Mr. Tony
DiLeo, who was director of the Darlington Downtown Revitalization
for a lot of years.
Tony put his heart and soul into making the downtown area more
attractive and business-friendly. He also made the Taste of Darlington
what it is today, a big success.
Tony gives over 100 percent on every project he worked on and
with much professionalism. I worked with Tony at Perfection American
Gear where he was plant manager, and I worked in production control.
He worked as hard there as he did as revitalization director and
should be recognized for all his hard work and years of service.

At
the July 5th City Council meeting, the City Codes Enforcement
Officer Lee Bass asked for approval of the demolition list of
dilapidated houses from Council. The News & Press reported
this in the July 13th paper: “The approval allows Bass to
begin the process of notifying owners with certified letters.
Property owners have 30 days to respond. Owners may choose to
tear down the vacant structures on their own, or Bass will meet
with them to discuss what must be done to repair the homes. He
also connects them with Habitat for Humanity when possible.”
What was not said is that streetscape is very important to the
appearance of an “old” neighborhood. I understand
the importance that one dilapidated home can have on the appearance
of a neighborhood as a whole, but by the same token some of these
old homes have historical value and were built at the turn of
the century. Although they might not be listed on the historic
registry, they still have value to many. The “shot gun”
houses were built long ago for workers at the mill. If we take
them down, we are destroying part of our history.
The six houses on the list are on Second Street, H Avenue, Lee
Street, South Dargan Street, Hickory Street and South Main Street.
Why are only certain areas being targeted in reference to vacant
homes being demolished? This is a citywide problem. If the homeowner
cannot refurbish the home, pay the demolition fee or tear it down
themselves, the city will put a lien on the property tax (demolition
fee). If the homeowners is unable to pay the property tax by the
cutoff date, the land will be sold to the highest bidder at the
tax sale in October at the Darlington County Courthouse.
In many cases, homeowners don’t allow their homes to get
in these conditions by choice. It is usually a simple matter of
circumstance and finances. I hope that at some point someone can
come up with a grant that can help save these neighborhoods. This
will be a top priority of my administration, and I will be involved
in organizing these neighborhood associations. If you have any
questions or concerns, please feel free to call me at (843) 393-0450.

In
recent months, our office as well as several other agencies in
the local area have been contacted by elderly victims who have
been taken advantage of in a sweepstakes phone scam.
The caller will make contact with the elderly person and convince
them that they have won a large sum of money, but that they have
to pay a fee to get around paying large sums of taxes on these
monies. The victim will be asked to go to a Western Union usually
at a local grocery store and send these monies out of the country.
They even go as far as to try to give the victim a cover story
for anyone who might be taking them to send the money.
We strongly urge you to let anyone that you know who might be
susceptible to a scam such as this to be wary of anyone that calls
you on the phone that you don’t know who tells you something
that you know is too good to be true. If they continue to call
you after you have asked them not to, please tell them to call
the local sheriff’s office or police department, and we
will gladly help them.
If you received a check in the mail involving this same type of
situation where they ask you to cash the check and then send them
the money, it is also a scam.
Once again if you need someone to look at the check to tell you
if it is genuine, please call a local police agency, and we will
look at it for you.
Remember if you cash or deposit such a check you are the one that
will be most likely held accountable for it.

Citizens
from all over the Pee Dee Region will be gathering at the State
Capitol in Columbia on Tuesday, July 26. This demonstration of
comradeship is to show members of the State Legislature the people
of the Pee Dee Region want to be the new 7th Congressional District.
We believe this action, which we are calling the Pee Dee Push,
is necessary because the South Carolina Senate insist on playing
games. The Great Pee Dee Region is and should remain a cohesive
region. We are not asking for anything that is not simple common
sense and fair.
PEE DEE PUSH is a protest against raw political moves.
Unlike some of the other redistricting proposals, it is not about
Democrat versus Republican or racial motivated. This day is about
saving the PEE DEE Region of South Carolina. The goal is to have
Pee Dee residents and those who support the region from all across
the State to converge on the South Carolina State House on the
day the legislature goes back into session. Our goal, express
the Pee Dee’s desire to remain intact and have the 7th Congressional
District in the Pee Dee Region of South Carolina.
Currently, some members of the South Carolina Senate want to divide
the Pee Dee region of South Carolina into four different Congressional
districts. This leaves the Pee Dee once again an unrepresented
area of the state. We believe it is time for the Pee Dee to take
a stand in opposition to this decision by the South Carolina Senate
Leadership.
Why should a natural Region (that will pass the test of the judicial
review) be split up just so other districts can be held intact,
or strengthened, just to protect already well-represented areas
of the state?
Printed materials, including statements from citizens, city and
county elected officials, state office holders, business leaders
and educators will be available for participants to hand out and
to discuss with legislators. All participants will be encouraged
to share a personal Pee Dee story with these legislators. Our
goal is to assure that every elected official has to look in the
faces of the people of the Pee Dee when they make these important
decisions that will adversely impact our Region.
We need to begin arriving in Columbia at 8:30am. We will meet
at Magnolia Mall in Florence (just outside of Barnes and Noble)
at 7a.m. Carpools will be formed, and then we will become a caravan
heading to Columbia. We need as many volunteers who are willing
to drive to sign up and list how many you can have ride with you.
We are asking everyone who rides with someone to please make a
donation to the driver for gas.
We need a lot of PEE DEE WANTS THE 7TH signs! There will be a
sign making event the night before this event.
Pee Dee Rush leadership is working on a press conference that
will take place on July 26th at the statehouse event.
This will be a full day in Columbia, South Carolina. We would
like to have citizens from all over the Pee Dee fill the house
and senate balconies, the lobby of the State House. We also need
citizens to picket outside on the sidewalks and near the State
House parking garage.
We are asking the people of the Pee Dee to stay at the State House
until the Pee Dee gets the 7th District on July 26. This will
be a very long but historical day!
For more information concerning Pee Dee Push, contact Bill Pickle
at (843) 260-7806 or Stephanie Rawlinson at (843) 229-1551.

Noodles lol healthy fills u up an only 15 cents a pack come in all
favors
Tasha H

check grocery store items on sale and eat as less foods white in
color as you can....rice can be cooked brown rice or yellow &
be ok ...if you eat a lot of noodles that is white and loaded with
sodium. Just eat smaller portions of bad foods once a week to treat
yourself. Check amts of carbohydrates & sugar add them together
for a total of sugar intake. Also check for aspertame on foods and
drinks . this is a health hazard. Eat lots & lots of cucumbers,squash.
etc
Lynette M

I buy the healthy foods first then if anything is left , I may buy
some junk foods. Also, water is healthier than any beverage you
can buy, that saves money. I try to buy vegetables and fruit in
season. Luckily , we live in an area where vegetables and fruit
are plentiful. Noodles are cheap but not a healthy food.
Donna J

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